Josephine is the diminutive counterpart to Jeffrey‘s. Where Jeffrey‘s is derived from its immediate context, Jo is the story of Mrs. Viscardi merged with an inside story about a tongue-in-cheek painting.

Ron Weiss writes:“Mrs. Josephine Viscardi was our landlady at Jeffrey’s for 25 years.

Her husband died young and she became the consummate Italian matriarch: ruling with a gentle hand over five children, numerous grandchildren and even more great grandchildren. A beloved role model to her family, she held a special place in the hearts of everyone who knew her in Clarksville.

We decided to honor Mrs. Viscardi by naming the Josephine House after her; we placed a plaque on the exterior and revealed the surprise to her. She beamed every time she walked by.

She kept a special table at Jeffrey’s. In later years when she could not walk as well, two of us would carry her in her favorite chair from her home on Waterston to Jeffrey’s and then back home afterward.

She was one of the most gracious people we have known.”

A friend gave the Weiss family a painting of Joesphine Beauharnais, Empress of France, wife of Napoleon to hang in the house (now at the bar) for humorous effect.

The identity we developed weds these narratives together. With Italian typefaces, French merlettes (liberated from the Beauharnais coat of arms), and our own hand stippled delineations of the Beauharnais rose, each gesture connects the identity both to Jeffrey’s, the origin story, and still emerges with its own voice.

“If this all sounds glamorous and special, it is. Welcome back to fine dining.” Bon Appétit